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Erridan Kraus
Erridan Kraus is an Archmagos Explorator from the Forge World of Stygies VIII. Having served as a Secutor upon Stygies VIII, Erridan decided he best served his family and the Omnissiah by not staying within his forge but going forth into the void of space to hunt down and destroy xenos threats to the Mechanicum and the Imperium. However, he does this not out of duty to either empire but so that he may acquire advanced xeno technology or long lost archeo-tech. This mentality led him down the path to that of an Explorator. With his Explorator Fleet VX-7743.II, Erridan Kraus has ventured across the Segmentum Pacificus, searching for scraps of data upon Space Hulks, xenos worlds, and human held worlds should even a rumor of lost knowledge or technology be heard to be upon it. Now he ventures into the Eressa Sector within the Segmentum Pacificus for a multitude of reasons known only to himself. His full title is Forge Master of Stygies VIII, Archmagos Prime of the Obsidian Temple, Explorator of VX-7743.II. History Early Life Born to Voral and Kassandra Kraus, ruling Magi of a minor forge upon Stygies VIII, Erridan was raised wealthy and surrounded by the best teachers and soldiers his father had at his disposal. As a boy, Erridan became enthralled with technology like most children raised amongst the Magi of a Forge World. He showed a great interest in the Skitarii and their weapons, asking question after question about them to his father. Magos Voral believed that Erridan would make a great Magos one day due to his natural curiosity and strength of will, for Erridan was a stubborn child and firm in his beliefs even from a young age. He dreamed that Erridan would one day be leading the family's Skitarii into battle against vile xenos and bring back the spoils of war to the family's forge wherein they may exploit the rewards for their own gain. Like many young boys, Erridan was rowdy and aggressive, giving his mother no end of headaches but making his father proud due to cementing the belief that his son would be the key to making his minor Forge into a great one with the conquests and spoils he would bring from war. Encouraged by his father, Erridan was trained to fight, learning to use various weapons from a young age, which, unexpectedly for his father, saw him grow violent by constantly picking fights with other children. Ever since he was 5, Erridan showed a particular aptitude for violence which became apparent when he began picking fights with older children of other Magi families and, despite being younger, left his opponents with bloody noses, bruises, and occasionally broken bones, though he had his fair share of those as well. Many Magi viewed Erridan as troublesome and he would garner many enemies throughout his younger years. Whereas his father trained him to become a solider, Erridan's mother taught him the ideals of fairness, respect, and tradition. Erridan became a fanatical follower of the Omnissiah and the Machine Cult, seeing the Emperor as the Omnissiah incarnate and all technology as sacred, from the most humble cogitator to Emperor-Class Battleships. Erridan ensures every single rite and litany is perfectly performed before using any technology, carrying a tome of prayers to soothe and awaken the Machine Spirit of various machines. Yet, his belief in the sanctity of technology does not solely preside in that of the Mechanicum, but technology of all life forms. This belief grew from the unorthodox teachings and actions of the Magi of Stygies VIII and therefore his interest in xeno-tech grew greatly, much to the dismay of his mother who was strictly orthodox whereas his father was of the unorthodox beliefs of Stygies VIII. From a young age his parents cultivated a strong sense of loyalty within Erridan, a trait which never left him throughout his life. His loyalty towards his family and friends grew to be unbreakable, though he kept his circle of friends quite small, a fact his mother lectured him on constantly when he was younger. Erridan also grew to become a man who believed that nothing is fair in the universe and nothing is owed to you, yet, he made it his personal goal to be a fair man in an unfair life. As a child, Erridan would fight often with other children because they would cheat and lie in games. As an adult, Erridan would treat his menial and servants fairly, avoiding overly harsh sentences for failure or sin but also not being overly generous in his rewards for good service. The final and possibly the core of Erridan's nature is his honor. Erridan Kraus had been raised to be a soldier, a leader of men and warmachines in the thick of battle. His father had ensured that he would grow into a man of honor, facing his opponents head on and face to face, unlike the cowards who he had to battle with in the politics of the Stygies VIII where backroom deals, blackmail, bribery, and even assassination were utilized. Erridan held his honor as a central to his very being as a soldier, a politician, and tech-priest of the Omnissiah. Tutelage For most of his young adult life, Erridan had been taught by his parents and his tutors, a Secutor Tech-priest of his family's forge by the name of Emyl Garidos and a Reclaimator by the name of Korlax Baelton. His father taught him the core values of being a leader of men so that he may one day rule the forge after his own passing. His mother taught him the values of tradition, the Machine Cult, and the ideals of fairness and justice. The teachings of his parents became the core of Erridan's nature and how he would view the galaxy but it is the teachings of Emyl and Korlax that shaped him into the man he grew to be. Military Tutelage Emyl Garidos was a chief advisor to Erridan's father in military matters. He was entrusted with providing reports on the arsenal of the forge and maintaining the vast warmachines therein. Emyl taught Erridan all he knew regarding warfare; tactics, statistics of warmachines, the histories of great wars, the strengths and weaknesses of the forge and those of rival forges, and his own personal experiences as a commander. Emyl was a great warrior in his own right and a masterful tactician, having himself fought in countless wars alongside or for Magos Varol against both xenos and heretics. It was Emyl that Varol tasked to oversee the training of Erridan in the martial arts, teaching him methodical, patient, and powerful strikes with an Omnissian Axe in melee and similarly how to wield firearms and other specialized weapons available for Magi. Erridan would train for hours on end against combat training servitors, on the firing range, and in live fire or bladed training exercises. Erridan grew to understand his body's limits perfectly and those of his bionic limbs as they would slowly but surely replace his weaker human form. Eventually, Erridan became a powerful warrior, having his bionics be made to maximize both his combat prowess and ability to command whatever forces are at his disposal. Yet, Erridan had to work long and hard to become a warrior of renown. To Emyl and Varol's surprise, Erridan showed a natural aptitude for strategy and warfare. Emyl taught Erridan all he knew about warfare; the importance of terrain, the necessity to understand one's enemy's strengths and weaknesses, to understand one's own strengths and weaknesses, and how to utilize the resources that the Mechanicum has at hand. Emyl had always been one to favor the usage of combined arms, utilizing the various military arms of the Mechanicum in unison to compliment each other's strengths and make up for their weaknesses. Yet, Erridan diverged from this belief, being drawn to his childhood fascination with the Skitarii. When going through combat simulations and military exercises with and against Emyl, Erridan would often take a large portion of Skitarii in his force or solely take Skitarii for the entirety of his simulation army. In particular, Erridan was interested in the Skitarii Rangers for their ability to pick off enemy leaders, tirelessly pursue and hunt down targets, act as long ranged infantry support, and perform the roles of scouts as well as lethal skirmishers. It wasn't that Erridan did not appreciate or value the other assets of the Mechanicus' armed forces, but he believed that the Skitarii were the most well suited military arm of the Mechanicum to deal with a variety of foes without outside support. Whilst discussing his reasoning with Emyl, he argued that if one had to only have a single branch of the Mechanicum's forces at his disposal, the best choice would be the Skitarii. This led to numerous arguments between the two but neither would budge on their views. In Erridan's view, the specialized troops of the Skitarii are perfect for all encounters, able to fight in urban environments, areas with difficult terrain, in Zone Mortalis, upon the open field, and all others. They are also adaptable and capable of changing tactics easily on their own or at the command of a squad leader. Where Knights and Titans were Gods of War upon the battlefield and mighty tributes to the Omnissiah, they are neither subtle nor flexible enough for Erridan to fight in difficult terrain or fight to reclaim a forge from enemy hands without completely obliterating it. The Legio Cybernetica, in Erridan's view, are revered warriors of the Omnissiah but are constrained by their limited battle cogitators due to lacking any proper humanity and must rely upon their master's martial ability. Erridan views Combat and Gun Servitors as clumsy, inelegant, and the lowest of all servants to the Omnissiah that are good for little more than cannon fodder. It is this mentality that has led Erridan to have always favored the usage of Skitarii Rangers and Infiltrators as his bodyguards once he became a Secutor. He also used this knowledge when he became a Secutor for his father in 497.M41 and led the forge's forces in a campaign of genocide against a minor Greenskin infestation upon a planet where the family had a mining station. This also informed Erridan on his decision to make the Skitarii his primary fighting unit in his Explorator Fleet's ground and marine forces. Technology Tutelage Korlax Baelton was a Reclaimator bound by oath to serve Magos Dominus Voral Kraus. Korlax pledged his fealty to Voral after the Magos Dominus caught him studying forbidden technology within the sealed vaults of his forge, yet spared his life. Magos Voral did not spare his life out of pity or mercy but instead out of pragmatism. He believed that he could use a servant well versed in the acquiring of lost and forbidden technology for his own usage and what better servant for the job than one who's life he was ownership over? Throughout the years of his service, Korlax salvaged, repurposed, and stole hardware as well as technology for his master. Yet, one day Magos Voral spotted Korlax along with his son Erridan walking through his forge one evening and noticed Korlax speaking fervently about a topic he could not make out from such a distance but could see that it had enthralled Erridan for he was engrossed in whatever it was Korlax was speaking about. The next day Voral went and confronted Korlax about the evening before and the Reclaimator confessed that he was speaking about a piece of xeno-technology he had discovered long ago to Erridan. After a few seconds of silence, Voral broke into a chuckle and told the Reclaimator that from hence forth he would teach Erridan all that he knew and had discovered about xeno-technology over his long years as a Reclaimator. This puzzled the Reclaimator who anticipated that he would be executed for his heresy, but Voral unveiled to the unorthodox tech-priest that he too sought xeno-tech and that he wanted his son to understand the importance and value of such technology. However, Voral made Korlax swear under pain of death that he would never share this information with anyone, most especially Voral's wife; Magos Juris Kassandra. After swearing upon his life to do his master's will, Korlax and Voral went about scheduling tutoring sessions with Erridan away from prying eyes down in the forbidden vaults to begin his studies. Young Erridan would spend hours with Korlax down in the forbidden vaults, going over all the xeno-technology he gathered for his master, explaining what he understood and also what he could not understand. He compared and contrasted various xeno-technology with one another from different races as well as with Imperial technology. It was Korlax that gave Erridan a greater understanding of how technology "worked" beyond the simple superstitious nature of the Cult Mechanicus. Yet, this did not in any way shake his zealous belief in the Cult Mechanicus but, instead, only strengthened it, for now he understood both the spiritual nature of the Machine Spirit as well as the hardware of the machine itself. It was the teachings of this small and venerable Reclaimator that had greatly influenced his decision to become an Explorator in 531.M41. Secutor-Colonel In 473. M41, Erridan Kraus, at the age of 20, joined the Auxilia Myrmidon ranks of his father's Forge Temple. He did so to prove to himself that he was a warrior and a man capable of climbing the ranks of leadership on his own. This proved to be the crux of Kraus' military tutelage for in the wars that his father's military forces were engaged in, Erridan proved time and time again that he was more than a capable warrior and competent strategist. Over the course of 27 years, Erridan clawed his way to the highest rank he could attain within the Auxilia Myrmidon following the death of his tutor Emyl Garidos during the defensive campaign against a Greenskin Waaagh upon the vital mining world of Kori. Erridan ended up taking command of the remaining Mymidon forces of his father and held the planet against the Greenskins, slaying the Warboss, and shattering the Orks in a rash counter-attack. Following the defeat of the Greenskin Waaagh, Erridan was recalled by his father to return to Stygies VIII. Upon his return, Erridan was elevated to the rank of Secutor-Colonel and granted complete command of all Auxilia Myrmidon forces of his father's forge temple and granted temporary command over a Macroclade of Skitarii to cleanse Kori of Greenskins and then purge the Greenskin plague from the sub-sector. The initial purgation of the Greenskins was going well. Following the death of their warboss, the Greenskin hordes broke into rival warbands as Nobs and minor Warbosses fought for dominance. This allowed Kraus to lead his forces to victory after victory against the fledgling Greenskin held planets. However, his train of victories ended with a crushing defeat upon the planet of Ma'at in 503.M41. Unbeknownst to Erridan, a Greenskin known by the name of Tukthar the Red had managed to unite the Ork warbands of Ma'at before his arrival and turned the once industrial world into an Ork stronghold and was attracting large numbers of Greenskins to his cause through the construction of numerous Gargants and other Ork machines of war. Tukthar also managed to create an unsteady alliance with the Freebooter now known as Admiral Zigoth Iron Gob. Reports about a Greenskin Warboss rising in power upon the former industrial world of Ma'at drew Erridan's attention, who then decided to crush the Ork before he could begin another Waaagh and savage the sub-sector once again. Ma'at Campaign Ma'at System is an asteroid littered graveyard of vessels. It is the site of numerous battles between opposing fleets which has left the system covered with debris, crippled and abandoned vessels, and innumerable corpses. Upon entering the Ma'at star system, only a handful of Ork vessels were found by Erridan's forces which were easily crushed by the power of the Mechanicum fleet. Once they secured orbital dominance, the Mechanicum adopted an invasion ready posture above the planet. Initial augery scans placed the Greenskin forces at upwards to 100 million in number across the planet. The largest concentrations were located in the urban centers of the planet where vast quantities of crude war machines were being churned out for the hordes of Greenskins on the planet. Kraus was wary of the mountainous regions of the northern most continents as well as the tropical belt of the planet at the equator due to the their augers being unable to accurately map the areas but his advisers assured him that it would be in the mostly devoid of Greenskins since the planet's worth was in its factories. For, Ma'at was a planet previously held by the Imperium but lost to the Greenskins sometime in M39. The planet is a temperate continental world with numerous biomes and the bright blue star of Ma'at is able to support both thriving oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems. This world's vibrant ecosystems allowed humanity to colonize the planet and grow in numbers exponentially once the colony was fully prepared, turning the colony into a rapidly industrializing world expected to become a leading source of manufacturing within the sub-sector. Unfortunately for humanity, the very same ecosystems that fed their population now fed the Orks which, after savagely slaughtering the tens of millions of humans on the planet, well and truly above the augery estimations initially drawn up by the Mechanicum. Kraus, trusting both his advisers and the initial planetary scans prepared his forces for a concentrated assault upon the planet's 3 main hives; Ravensburg, Adrianopolis, and Korensburg. The Skitarii Macroclade would be divided into its 4 Cohorts, 2 to besiege Adrianopolis and Korensburg, 1 to stay in orbit as a rapid response reserve, and another to support the Auxilia Myrmidon's two cohorts to assault and purge the hive of Ravensburg. The campaign was meant to be a domino effect of sorts. Once Ravensburg fell, the forces sent to take the city would be redeployed to support the troops at Korensburg and similarly, once Korensburg fell then all forces would converge on Adrianopolis, the largest hive, and take the city. Estimated casualties were expected to be moderate but acceptable in part because the Mechanicum lacked the blessed God-Machines of the Collegia Titanicus, the honored Knights, or even forces of the Legio Cybernetic to bring heavy and super heavy weapons to the front with rapidity to combat the Orks' own large war machines. The Skitarii and Auxilia myrmidon did have titan killing ground elements and expected orbital ordinance to support their efforts when significant Ork titans were massed to assault their troops but the lack of large bi-pedal war machines would result in greater infantry casualties. Initially the assault went well at Ravensburg while Adrianopolis and Korensburg were effectively besieged by the Skitarii. After Ravensburg's outer walls were breached, weeks passed and slowly but surely, hab-block by hab-block, was being cleared of the Greenskins. Kraus oversaw the campaign from orbit with a flock of advisors and data-template holding servitors and aids bringing him updates about the three theaters of war. The Auxilia Myrmidon forces were making short work of the Greenskins with their powerful weapons outmatching the Greenskins in infantry firepower but the Mechanicum's relatively small numbers made it difficult to swarm the hive. This meant that the Mechanicus needed to slowly and methodically push into the hive, seizing and securing ground with automated gun emplacements and the bringing of weapon servitors to ensure the ground they held was not lost to Greenskin counter attacks. (Counter attack from the equitorial jungles and mountains wrecked havoc upon the skitarii around korensburg and completely oblitered them around Adrianopolis including the skitarii reinforcements from orbit. Ravensburg was taken but itself besieged by Greenskins while mechanicum fleet was defeated in a suprise attack by the orks who's fleet emerged from hiding behind the system's star and powered up and assaulted from the debri filled asteroid fields.) Magos Archmagos Prime Explorator Personality Erridan Kraus is a complex man who is driven by curiosity, ambition, a sense of justice, and zealous faith. His curiosity in regards to technology draws him forth like a moth is drawn to a light, it is an uncontrollable aspect of his nature which drives him to consume every scrap of knowledge about technology that he possibly can. This drive has turned Erridan into a man who is withdrawn, cold, and single-minded where once there was a young man driven by a passion for learning and understanding. Erridan is now envious of others, greedy with his own technology, resources, and knowledge, and arrogantly believes in his own superiority. One would speculate that it is possibly his curiosity that has cost Erridan Kraus his humanity but it is his ambition to advance his family's and his own position that is the most likely perpetrator for Erridan having grown to become the man he is now. Erridan Kraus seeks to turn his family's forge upon Stygies VIII into the leading forge upon the planet and wishes to attain glory for himself and have his name revered like Lord Solar Macharius. Despite being a cold and uncaring man when it comes to the needs and wants of other, Erridan adores praise, seeking gratification via the adulation and commendations of others. He wishes to be seen as a "hero" and a great man in the Imperium not for the sake of being a good man or for the sake of the Imperium itself, but to simply have his name remembered for ages to come. Yet, despite his selfish and greedy nature, Erridan believes in being fair and dispensing justice. Those who do right by him are repaid likewise and those who do him a favor are owed a debt or given some form of physical compensation. When dealing with merchants, rogue traders, or Imperial officials, Erridan believes that he is duty-bound to dispense justice and deal with all men fairly and according to what they deserve. Persons found to be inept by Erridan are treated little more than menials and below his station no matter what their actual position is in the Imperium. When dealing with heretics, traitors, or cowards, Erridan shows now mercy for they deserve none. Yet, when seeing loyal and dutiful citizens of the Imperium in need, Erridan will take it upon himself to aid them, not out of kindness but simply because their loyalty deserves reward. However, such "good" acts are never done when it jeopardizes his mission to advance his and his family's position or his never ending quest for more knowledge. He will sacrifice millions of citizens should his mission require it, believing that it would be unfair to himself risk death or great loss for no personal gain. Finally, Erridan is a man of zealous faith in the Omnissiah. He believes that all technology has a complex Machine Spirit tied to the Omnissiah himself and that each must be properly appeased so that it might function correctly. He ensures all rites and incantations are completed perfectly to appease the Machine Spirit and looks to honor the Omnissiah in all his actions regarding technology, yet, Erridan is quite unorthodox in two aspects of his faith. Erridan Kraus hails from Stygies VIII and the Forge World is well known for being highly unorthodox in its views towards xeno-tech and Erridan Kraus shares this unorthodox view, believing that even xeno-tech has a Machine Spirit tied to the Omnissiah himself. Tied to his fervent belief in the Cult Mechanicus and the Machine Spirits of xeno-tech is his curiosity. Erridan believes that he needs to not only appease the Machine Spirit but that to do so properly one must also understand the technological hardware of the machine, just as a doctor may utilize the understanding of the human body of his patient to help comprehend a patient's psyche. However, to understand the inner-machinations of technology, one needs to dismantle said hardware and commit blasphemy in the eyes of the Cult Mechanicus. However, in Erridan's view, he believes that the Machine Spirit he is defiling when he dismantles a piece of technology so as to better understand it's physical properties is a martyr for the greater good of the Omnissiah and the Cult Mechanicus as a whole, for by defiling this single Machine Spirit Erridan can now more efficiently produce more of that machine and appease other Machine Spirits more effectively. Appearance Kraus has long since transcended from his frail human form. The only flesh remaining of his former body is his brain, and even that has been heavily modified by bionic enhancements to increase his computing and calculations. Having served as both Secutor and Magos Dominus has led to Erridan Kraus taking on far more martial bionic enhancements than most of his kin. His frame is similar to that of Auxilia Myrmidons in that it is covered in heavy warplate supported by powerful synthetic muscles. He is host to 6 mechadendrites, 2 of which are volkite blasters, an assault cannon, another for advanced optics, one a heavy support arm, and the other a Abilities and Traits Retinue Archmagos Explorator Erridan Kraus maintains a host of military and civilian personnel in the Explorator Fleet VX-7743.II. The host at Kraus' beck and call was personally chosen by Kraus himself, being arrayed to deal with various hostile threats and overcome the numerous obstacles that would present themselves to the ventures of the Explorator fleet. His staff are high ranking Magi and Logi from Stygies VIII as well as numerous Imperial and non-Imperial specialists who have joined him on his venture to procure lost archeo-tech and xeno-tech from across the Segmentum Pacificus. From commanders and ship-masters to linguists and assassins, Kraus has surrounded himself with a host of specialists to advise him in matters beyond his expertise as well as to utilize their specific skills to accomplish otherwise impossible tasks laid before him. Specialist Personnel * Secutor Viktor Mikael (M) - Charged with command of the Battle-Servitors and non-Reductor armored assets of the Explorator Fleet, Secutor Viktor Mikael..... * Logis Lexico Arcanus Quintus Lorren (M) - * Magos Reductor Xelia Veridan (F) - * Magos Linguisitica ... (M) * Logis Transmechanic ... (M) * Magos Xenologis ... (F) * Navigator Sarah of House Vardan (F) - Sarah is a young navigator of House Vardan which calls Mars it's home. House Vardan is a minor navigator house when compared to the others located upon either MArs or Terra, but they still hold significant power and influence, especially upon the Forge Worlds of Stygies VII, Meandra, and Phoros on which they have spent significant resources to secure footholds upon. Sarah is a charming and, despite her young age, wise woman from the planet of Stygies VII where she is a duchess and holds a significant amount of influence and owns an massive palace following the untimely death of her father. She joined Explorator Fleet VX-7743.II after securing her place in the newly raised fleet via some political maneuvering....... * Astropath John Wilmington (M) - * Joren Kant (Murder-Stroke) (M) - A man of mysterious origins, Joren Kant is an infamous assassin in the employ of Erridan Kraus. Only Kraus and a select few of his trusted personnel know Joren's true name, to everyone else he is simply "Murder-Stroke" because of his signature weapon of choice; a xenos weapon known by the Deathwatch as a "Phase Sword". He is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and is an expert in infiltration, able to go undetected in all but the most heavily guarded locations. He is suspected to possess numerous biological and bionic enhancements to increase his deadliness, though to what extent and whether or not it was Kraus that provided him those enhancements is unknown. What is known is that when Kraus wants an opponent dead or a critical piece of knowledge stolen which he cannot be tied to, Joren is let loose. * Admiral Tiberius Sforza - A dishonorably discharged Vice-Admiral of the Imperial Navy, Tiberius Sforza is a man who was not bested in battle nor thwarted by his own military blunders but court marshaled for insubordination and striking a superior officer. Any man of a lower rank would have been executed for such crimes but it was his rank as a Vice-Admiral alone that spared him the executioner's block. Known for his daring battle plans along with his glory-hounding usage of unpopular close range broadsides and boarding actions, Sforza caught the attention of Kraus after his last engagement against a Greenskin Freebooters fleet. Being charged with command of his Battle-Group's Vanguard, Sforza Equipment Relations Friends and Allies Enemies Quotes By About Trivia Category:Adeptus Mechanicus Characters Category:Adeptus Mechanicus